Stars and Skeletons
by Karianasan
Summary: Get back you Harpies! Here! It's Fraphne! Now leave me alone. -Tosses the story at the fangirls- Just kidding, but it is Fraphne, since I'm behind in my list for pairings. I hope you guys like it! Completed!
1. Not Again

Daphne was really getting upset at this. Like countless other times, she was having a hard time sleeping. There didn't seem to be any actual reason for it, yet it still plagued her.

"Argh!"

Frustrated, Daphne stared up at the ceiling above her bed. She had tried everything... From counting sheep to meditation, and even soothing music and aroma therapy. But nothing worked on her. She just wasn't tired.

And she had tried to be awake, but that didn't help too much either. She didn't know what to do with herself. She had listened to all her CD's and she couldn't find anything interested online...Plus it was too late to even call anyone that she could talk to on the phone. Sure, she had a few friends that lived in different time zones that might be awake then, but she didn't want to call them just because she was bored. She saved those kinds of calls for big news; like the latest fashion trend that they might know of, or things of that nature.

You know, _important things_.

She had tried earlier to see if anyone else was awake. But in her searches, she found that Shaggy and Scooby had fallen asleep watching something in the living room. Leaving them splattered on the floor, she just turned off the TV and searched for someone else. But Velma too, had crashed early. Velma at least had a good reason though, as she had just stayed up for a long project herself and needed to recover from the few days she had stayed awake to finish it. So the first floor had been a bust, which was why she had returned to her room on the second floor.

"Maybe Freddie's awake..."

Rolling to a sitting position on her bed, she looked over towards her door. Her first reaction earlier was to head downstairs, so she hadn't looked at Fred's room. So she didn't even know if his door had been open or not. Like her, Fred had his room on the second floor. So it was just a hop, skip and a jump from her door; residing on the other side of the hallway.

Slipping her feet off the side of the bed, her feet touched down on the cold floor. Flinching, she sought out her cute, little fluffy slippers that she loved so much. They were perfect for keeping her feet warm about the house. As silly as they looked on her, she still wore them when the floor was too cold for her bare feet. Plus, no one else but the gang ever saw them, so she didn't mind if they didn't exactly match her pajamas.

Padding across the hall in her slippers, she found Fred's door open. Looking inside, she found herself looking at his back. Bent over something on his desk, he seemed to be working on something. Raising a hand, she gave the door frame a knock, letting him know she was there.

"Freddie?"

Stiffening, Fred was caught off guard with the sudden knocking and voice from his doorway. Head whipping around, he used his body to hide what he had been working on.

"Da...Daphne! What are you doing awake?"

Quickly pulling something towards him, he had opened the drawer and dumped whatever he had been working on, inside. His movements were hurried, but he was quick to get whatever it was into the desk and out of sight. As curious as she was about what he had been doing, she was bored. And at least he was awake. Leaning on the door frame, she whined at him. Secretly hoping that he would be able to think of something she hadn't.

"I can't sleep... And I'm restless." She grumbled, giving a bit of a pout at the end of it for good measure.

With his project hidden, he turned around and relaxed. He couldn't sleep either, so he had been working on something. But he hadn't expected her to be awake still. Turning his chair, he waved for her to come inside. Moping, Daphne accepted the invitation and came into the room to flop on his bed. The pout not leaving her face. But she soon got distracted, as she sat down on his bed. Fred didn't miss the face she made when she noticed his He-man coverlet that sat stretched over his bed, but she didn't say anything aloud. Getting distracted by it, she rubbed the material trying to ponder why he liked it so much. Well, besides it was soft and broken in.

"So, what do you want to do?" Figuring it was worth talking about, he asked her the question. But Daphne just gave him a look.

"I don't know. That's the problem." She said with a shrug.

"Well, what about some TV? We should have some shows taped from before..." Fred tried to suggest, but Daphne shook her head.

"Shaggy and Scooby are passed out down there. And they looked too comfortable, that I didn't want to wake them."

Fred nodded his head, easily able to picture the duo as they were, splattered across the living room without a care in the world. Sometimes he was jealous of the two, for being able to do that so easily. Not that they couldn't be woken up to be moved, and fall asleep again. But it wasn't fair to them, if they were sleeping, to wake them just so they could steal the living room from them.

"And Velma finished her project, so she'll be down for a while. She needs to recharge from her paper." Daphne added, telling Fred about Velma ahead of time. So he wouldn't ask about it. Though she wanted to be entertained, she didn't want to do it at the expense of Velma. Well, not this time. She would be selfish with her best friend another time.

"Hm... I see." Placing a hand to his mouth, Fred leaned into his palm as he thought. With the guys taking up the living room, and Velma out cold... He didn't want to go down to the first floor. But they really didn't have much to do on the second floor either.

As the wheels turned in Fred's mind, Daphne was still bored. Having thought of everything earlier, she hadn't been able to think of anything she could do without the possibility of waking up the others. Kicking her feet against the bed, she watched with a slipping patience.

His room was just like it always was, clean. Fred always kept his room neat and organized. So she didn't have much to look at that kept her attention. Well, nothing till her mind recalled something new in his room since she had last been in there…

…Whatever he had hidden in the desk.

"_Freddie..._" With the tone of voice she used, Fred immediately looked up. It was the kind of tone that meant she was up to something, and easily broke his concentration for thinking. "... What did you hide in that desk of yours? You looked like you were working on something. I can try to help! It might help solve my boredom."

Eyes darting to the drawer, Fred looked back at her and shook his head as he waved his arms at her.

"Nononono... I'm just..." Trying to find the words, Fred stuttered as he tried to make up some excuse for her not to help with his project. This only made her even more curious. "... It's something for Red. He asked me to..."

Mentioning his friend's name, an idea popped into his head. Cutting himself off, the thought prevented him from finishing his sentence.

"He asked you to..."

Daphne repeated, hoping that he would continue where he had left off. But there was no response. Getting up, she leaned over at Fred and waved her hand a few times before he snapped out of it. Looking up at her, Fred smiled. (Which was kinda creepy to Daphne, since it had been so sudden.) Plucking the waving hand out of the air, Fred placed his other hand upon the one he was holding.  
>His eyes twinkled up at her. Daphne knew that look, and it usually was only there when Fred had a plan up his sleeve. Then he said something that she wasn't expecting...<p>

"Do you trust me?"


	2. Do you trust me?

"Do you trust me?"

Daphne didn't know what to think about those four little words he had spoken to her. _Sure, she trusted him._She lived in the same household for years and never once thought anything ill about him across the hall. But when he said it aloud, she had to pause and give it thought.

"... That depends..." She tentatively spoke, her mind unable to come up with what he might be thinking.

"What do you have in mind?" Looking down at him, she couldn't deny that she was a bit curious. What could his little mind have come up with, after mentioning the project (Which he still didn't say what it was.) and Red Herring?

"You'll see." Fred said with a smile, standing up and letting go of her hand he had been holding. But his answer didn't satisfy her. She recently had to deal with Shaggy being mysterious on her, and she wasn't going to put up with Fred doing it as well. Placing her hands to her hips, she gave him a measuring look.

"You're not going to add 'scouts honor' to that, are you?"

"Well, I could. If it makes you feel any better." Fred said simply, shrugging at the end of his sentence. This earned a puzzled look on Daphne's face, before she recalled that Fred had actually been in the boy scouts as a kid. Unlike Shaggy, who had used it as a ruse to convince both Velma and Daphne to do things... Fred could _actually_ use it truthfully.

Knowing that she would eventually remember, he brought up one hand and held up three fingers. Straightening up, he fixed his posture as he spoke. Copying the motions that he had memorized as a kid, he recalled the Scout Oath. The motto for the Boy Scouts, and the rules and honor code that they lived by.

"On my honor I will do my best. To do my duty to God and my country, and obey the Scout law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight."

He held up his hand for a little bit longer, before breaking his ridged posture to grin at her. Using his hand he made the Scout sign with, he moved it to tug on his orange ascot that hung about his neck.

"Always be prepared."

Daphne caved under his show, placing a hand to her forehead as if she had a headache. (Though, it was actually an attempt to hide her grin from Fred.) But she eventually gave into the smile and shook her head.

"The mighty scout Ascot. Bandage, sling… Out dated fashion trend. Yep, ready for anything." Daphne quipped, unable to resist the prod at his favorite accessory. Not that he didn't wear it better than anyone else she knew, but it still was far out of fashion.

"Yep!" He agreed, not bothered by her comment at all. He loved his Ascot, and it came in handy way too many times for him to consider anything else. Plus it was comfortable and he liked the color. It went with the rest of his outfit and he had worn it long enough that he felt odd without it.

"It's very useful. But you still didn't answer my question. Do you trust me? I have an idea."

He asked again, which she then had to actually consider it seriously. She did trust him, but she didn't like not knowing what was going on. Bored or not, she preferred to know what she was about to do.

"I do trust you Freddie, but I want to know what you have in mind. I like being surprised, but I don't want to be jumping out of the window without knowing why..."

"Funny you should mention that..." Fred muttered, letting his vision drift towards his window. Blinking, she followed his eye line and found herself looking at his window. It was still somewhat hot, even at night, so Fred had the window wide open to let the heat out and breeze in.

"I am bored Fred, but _not_ bored enough to jump out a window..." She said flatly.

"No no. Well, yes." This earned him a look. "Let me explain…" Pausing, he tried to figure out how to exactly to word it, without seeming crazy.

"You know those romance movies you like watching? Where they guy always comes to the girl past her window? Usually he uses a tree to climb up, or one of those lattices for plants. It's like that, well... sort of. Think of it as reverse…"

Usually, Fred was good at talking in front of people and explaining things. But for some reason, Daphne was throwing him off of his game. Or maybe, it was because it was late at night. (Not like that fact ever stopped the villains they chased.) But either way he was having some trouble explaining it to the awaiting red head.

"Let me start again. Shaggy, Scooby and Velma are sleeping. We don't want to wake them, so we need a way out... That is our way out." Finally getting it out clearly, (at least to his own mind) he pointed at the window to indicate his plan.

Even though he had explained it somewhat, Daphne was still trying to put all the pieces he gave her together. Walking to the window, she tried to recall all the movies she watched that had to do with a window. Looking out, she noticed the roof that hung over the porch that stretched along the front and part of the side of the house.

_Window plus roof, plus romance movies... Equaled an escape plan!_ Finally putting it together, she realized he wanted to use the classic run-away-together cliché. Where the guy comes to sweep the woman off her feet, and they escape out the window to go... Where ever they planned to go. Usually that depended on the plot of the movie. But the idea was sound. Looking back at Fred, he knew the look on her face meant that she had figured out what he had said.

"I always wanted to try that. But never had a reason to sneak out of the house to use that method. So, you want to?" Fred admitted honestly. It just wasn't something that had come up very often in his life. He didn't know why it always happened to the guys in the movies, but he really didn't have too many times that he could count that required climbing from windows. Well… mysteries aside.

"Ok, well what do we do after we get out of the house? And how do we plan to get back inside when we come back?" Daphne wondered, still not knowing what this was all going to lead to. Well, besides getting out of the house.

"I want to keep that a secret, but I promise that you will like it." Fred admitted honestly, trying to at least hide some of his grand plan from her.

"Alright, as long as I'm not bored anymore. But we need to change first into some better clothes. I'm not going anywhere with you and those... Pajamas." She said making at face at Fred's attire, before Daphne turned to go get dressed herself. She didn't want to wreck her night time pajamas when she had other outfits for these kinds of things.

Fred grinned, and waited till she was out of his room before he closed the door and moved to get dressed. Though all he really needed was to change his pants. Picking up his Masters of the Universe pajama pants, he looked at it sideways and wondered why she didn't like it.

"But… Everyone likes He-man." He whined a bit at the pants, giving the material an affectionate rub. It was comfortable, and He-man was cool. At least he thought so.


	3. The escape!

As it's a woman's prerogative to take her time, Daphne was far to bored to fall into old protocols. Grabbing her outside work cloths, she threw on jeans and a shirt that could withstand being roughed up a bit. As graceful as she was, Daphne wasn't sure how well this whole roof escape plan was, without the danger of putting holes in some of her favorite attire. Grungy clothes were perfect for the plan. That and she doubted that anyone sane would be out this late. Let alone question why she was dressed the way she was.

So what does that make me? Daphne pondered, musing about her own mental state as she returned to Fred's room to go out his window.

Coming into the room, Fred had already gotten dressed himself, and waited for her at the open window. He had pulled the blinds all the way up, and pushed the window as open as he could get it.

"Ladies first! After you, Madam." Moving his hand in front of himself, he slightly bowed to Daphne. Offering a smile and a spare hand to help her get through the window, like a true gentleman.

"Why, thank you sir." She gave Fred a wiry smile and a short curtsy, before gripping his hand and giving the window a looking over. She knew she had his hand to lean on, but what to do then? She wasn't exactly proficient in window climbing, and had only done it on the spur of the moment, as something was coming after her from behind. But as she wasn't being chased, she actually had to think before she did something crazy and unexpected.

"Lead with the foot first, then work your hips out and then the head. And, make sure you don't hit your head on the frame. Trust me, it hurts." Fred rubbed the offended spot that he had hit when he had given it a try earlier. Not like he was going to let her go out before he tested it first.

"Oh Freddie... Come here." Pulling on the hand he had offered, she pulled him close so that she could get a look at the bump forming on his head. Apparently he had given himself a good enough whack, which it was certainly showing.

"It's nothing..." Fred tried to push her away, but Daphne persisted against him.

"It's not, nothing. You really gave yourself a good shot there. Here..." Leaning up, she pulled his head down enough to plant a small kiss on the offended spot. Fred's face lit up like a set of red Christmas lights, but Daphne was too busy fishing out a Band-Aid from her pockets to notice his flushed cheeks. Coming back to face him, he had already gotten rid of his blush in time for her to place the Band-Aid upon his bump.

"There! And now we can go." Gripping his hand again, she looked back to the window.

"And watch the head. You don't want to be sporting a Band-Aid on your forehead, like me." Fred brought up, giving his head a point with his spare hand. Daphne smiled and gave him a nod.

"Yes, watch the head. Or I'll end up with a Hello Kitty Band-Aid on my head. Got it." Leading with her foot, she started to move out of the window as Fred recoiled from her statement, a hand rushing up to brush the Band-Aid on his head.

"Oh man... Hello Kitty? Really?"

Chuckling at Fred's dismay, Daphne placed her foot on the other side and tested it a few times before she moved her hips into place. Leaning her weight on the outside foot, and gripping Fred's hand, she moved her hip past the opening. Shifting downwards, she snaked her torso out of the window. Using her spare hand, she placed her hand on the outside of the window and steadied herself to duck her head enough to make it past the window frame. Clipping a bit of the top of her head, she managed to get past it with not too much problem. And once her head was out, the rest was easy. Well, as easy as it was to stand on a slanted roof.

Fred made it look a lot easier, but he had done it already once time that night... And this time he remembered to duck or suffer the consequences. Though the look on his face, it was clear that he wasn't too happy with her choice in Band-Aids. His face twisted slightly in a bit of a grumpy pout. A look that only a caught off guard Fred, could make. Apparently he was not a fan of Hello Kitty.

"Oh don't be like that. No one's going to see you. It's late and we are like, the only ones out this late." Daphne rolled her eyes, and giving her head a shake.

"You wear white after labor day..." She said, giving his favorite white shirt a flick with her nail. "...But you can't stand to wear a little Hello Kitty?" She finished, giving him a sideways look.

"...But I like white..." Fred replied with a whine, unhappy at the comment Daphne shot at his attire. But he didn't grumble long, as Daphne had turned her attention back to what they had been doing.

"Alright genius, we're really living the dream here. Escaping out the window and on to the roof was the next step, right? She paused, giving him a glance over her shoulder. Now what? Mister man-with-the-plan?"

Sulking a bit as he closed the window behind him, he turned back to give the roof a look. Easing himself further down the roof, he leaned over to figure out where they were. Apparently the living room was just beneath their feet, and then led to the overhang of the wraparound porch. It spanned a good chunk of space, over ten feet of edge to look over.

"Hmmm..."

He shifted his weight, looking about below for a way for them to get down. He made sure to test each footfall, to make sure not to slip against the slant he was standing upon. Thankfully, it hasn't rained or snowed recently, so the roof was not slick. A blessing, for such a crazy plan in the first place. Walking the length of the roof, Fred continued to look for something to help. Finally, Fred spotted something.

"I think we can... WAH!" Moving over to a spot, he had turned back to tell Daphne what he had in mind, when he turned too sharply and fell backwards. Taking only seconds Fred vanished from sight, heading to the ground.

"Fred!" Shouting a bit too loud, Daphne practically jumped herself to the edge of the roof. But as her head swung over the edge, she wasn't prepared to see Fred's face coming at her. Unable to dodge, Daphne smacked heads together with Fred. Her head snapped back, stars dancing behind her eyes for a second before she was able to shake them off. With her head fuzzy, she tried to put together what had just happened, and the worst part of it... was the laughter that was coming from where Fred had fallen off of.

Holding her head, she cautiously peeked over the roof to see where the laughing was coming from. And it didn't take long before she saw what had happened, earning Fred an angry glare from the rooftop.

Fred had noticed from the roof, that Shaggy and Scooby had left out their trampoline. And using that as a cushion, he had jumped from the roof and landed on it. But he didn't think that Daphne would have gotten herself so close in the short time it took him to hit the trampoline and bounce back up. He had meant to wave or something, but instead got another bump on top of the old one.

"FREDI'MGOingtokillyou..." Daphne slurred together, loud at first but she hissed out the rest as she recalled that they were outside, and it was late at night. "Don't DO that..." She angrily whispered at him.

"Alright, Alright. I deserved that." Fred chuckled, rubbing the new bump. He rolled off the trampoline, and left it unoccupied so that she could drop down. Glaring at him more one time, she then got herself in a position to jump off.

Dropping down was a rush, as it had been a while since she dropped that far. As she jumped off the roof, it felt like the world stopped and left her hanging there for a second. But that was when gravity came back into play, dragging her body down towards the trampoline, leaving her stomach to drop last. Bracing herself, she still wasn't ready when the bouncy material hit her, bringing her almost back to the roof. A few more bounces, and the energy she brought from the jump had been exhausted.

"Phew! That was a rush!" Daphne tried to contain her excitement. That was fun, though she still wanted to hit Fred for his earlier scare. But he had been kind enough to offer a hand, and helped her to her feet. So she had to push her annoyance aside. He had just been doing it for her. And she had been bored... This was certainly better than just staring up at her ceiling in her room. 


	4. Arrived at their Destination

"Here, stand still."

Fred steadied Daphne in front of him, waiting a second for her to get her footing before he continued. Dropping his hands from holding her, he dipped back into his pocket and brought out a comb. Having a feeling they were going to get into some crazy things, he came prepared. Bringing the comb up, he noticed that it was a bit hard to see how much her hair was tossed from the landing.

"Hm, let's move to the garage. I figure we can get our transportation there. Come on."

Leaning forward, he gripped her hand and pulled her into moving. Even if she wanted to object, she couldn't as he pulled her into motion. Leading her around the front yard, they passed by the van where it sat in the driveway. Daphne tried to ask if they had been going to take it, but instead Fred brought her further around the house. Walking along the side, they traveled down the long driveway to where the garage waited.

Using the light there, Fred tended to her hair before pulling open the garage. Leaving Daphne to just stand there and watch as Fred fiddled with the garage door. _What was he doing?_

The garage was an utter mess! It was a mix of things, each representing their respective owner. From Fred's tools for fixing the Van, to Velma's and Daphne's skateboarding gear, and even the massive grill that belonged to the duo. Everything they owned for outside, was crammed into a two car garage that sat at the end of their driveway. And apparently inside here... was their mode of transportation?

"Why don't we just use the Van, Freddie?" Daphne wondered aloud, as the taller man peered back and forth into the chaos that was their garage.

"We could, but the guys are sleeping. And I think the van starting up would at least wake up Scooby… Who most likely is all tangled up in Shaggy, and would then wake him up too. So, we are trying to avoid that, yes?" Fred mentioned over his shoulder, and he continued to look for what he was searching for.

"Hm… true." Daphne pondered. The whole reason they jumped off the roof was to not wake the guys in the living room. So using the van would totally break their whole crazy plan. But what could Fred have in mind that was better than the Mystery Machine?

"Ah ha!" Whooping in his victory, he managed to locate their transportation. Gripping the handles, Fred tried to get a hold of the middle to hoist it up and over some things that had been in the way. Wiggling it this way and that, Fred finally managed to get the prize out of the garage and without too much noise as well. Finally getting free, Fred placed it front of him and waited to see Daphne's reaction.

"Well?"

"Well what Fred? It's a bike."

"Yes! But not just any bike!" Fred beamed. "It's Shaggy's bike!"

"So… You are riding on Shaggy's bike. What about me?" Daphne looked the bike over, not really understanding Fred's excitement about it. And why Shaggy's bike, and not his own? She wondered.

"No no. Don't you see? Shaggy's bike is perfect, for both of us to ride!"

To demonstrate, Fred hopped up on the back wheel of the bike and made the bike stand without the help of the kickstand. For a while, Shaggy had gotten really into BMX biking and had installed pegs on both sets of wheels for tricks. And pegs were not only useful for doing stunts, but adding a second rider without much trouble. Well, as long as they didn't go to fast and try to do anything fancy on the bike.

Giving it some thought, Daphne wouldn't have come up with this herself. It was quiet, compact and would handle two riders without too much trouble… Where ever they were going?

"So, I guess you are doing the peddling then? Unless you want to share with me, your plan for this evening?" Daphne surmised, though it was more night then evening. But evening sounded nicer being spoken aloud.

"Yep. I'm not ready to share the surprise yet. Come on, hop up and we'll be off!" Fred beamed at her, hopping from the pegs to the seat. Kicking up the stand, he waved for her to hop on the back of the bike. She could have used the front pegs, but Fred wasn't as skilled as Shaggy was when it came to extra passengers. So he felt safer with Daphne behind him, rather than in front.

Giving the pegs a look, she had never ridden on one of these before. Sure, she had seen other kids do it on their bikes, but she had never taken Shaggy's offer for a ride. So she really didn't know what she was getting into. Though now she was really happy she went for sneakers, because she didn't know how heels would work on pegs.

Slowly, she placed one foot upon the first peg. Leaning up, she gripped Fred's shoulder in front of her before pushing up and placing the second foot. Surprisingly it was sturdier then she expected. Bringing her second hand up, she placed it to match the other one on Fred's shoulder. Giving his shoulder a squeeze, she let him know she was ready.

Nodding, Fred focused his attention in front of them. Slowly, so not to spook Daphne, he readied the bike and pushed off. Kicking with his feet on the ground, Fred was happy that Shaggy had practiced his tricks on a shorter bike then he normally used. Or Fred wouldn't have been able to have his feet touch the ground. Sometimes he was jealous of how tall Shaggy was.

Easing them fast enough, Fred gave one final push before he jumped his feet to the peddles.

At first it was a bit unnerving for Daphne. Each step Fred took made the bike weave back and forth. Tensing herself she braced against his shoulders but tried not to squeeze too hard to let him know she was fretting. While her feet felt sturdy, then rest of her was another matter. But once Fred moved to the peddles and the speed kicked up… Strangely enough it got a lot smoother. Letting one eye peek open, Daphne realized she had been closing her eyes the whole time. Bracing for something that thankfully never came.

"Phew."

"How is it back there?" Apparently not noticing her slight distress, Fred called back to find out how Daphne was doing. He might have been too caught up in his own anxiousness of making sure to not fall over, to have noticed her grip on him.

"Good… It's not bad back here." She admitted, enjoying it more as they got faster and more stable. With the ride leveling out, she was finally able to look around and enjoy the view from a new perspective.

From the back of the bike, Daphne looked about her neighborhood with new eyes. No one was around, and it almost felt like Fred and her, were all alone in the world. It was so quiet, and unmoving. Almost like time had been put on pause. Leaving everything untouched except for them. There had been some noises, like a dog barking off in the distance. But they all felt almost muted and far away enough to feel not immediately there.

Time felt like it passed slowly, as they biked across blocks and up and down streets in the still night. As Fred got more and more used to biking with a passenger, eventually he too was able to enjoy the sights as they traveled to the destination he had in mind. As they moved from block to block, the houses started to get less dense and have more room between the buildings. They had gone far enough through town, to get to a section that was less developed, though it wouldn't last like that for long. As plots of land had been divided and were in different stages of being built. From holes that would eventually become basements, to the almost finished houses; waiting on some plumbing pieces.

Passing by different stages, Fred aimed for one house in particular.

As he pulled the bike into the soon to be driveway, the two of them looked up at a skeleton of a house. Most of the framing had been done, but a bout of rain had stopped the work until the weather got better. Which left this little house open, and free to explore. Well, with permission from the builders and owner, of course.

"Here we are!" Fred spoke aloud, spreading his hands to show Daphne the house that sat in front of them.

"…" Getting off the pegs, Daphne had to find her feet again. Standing on flat ground felt odd, almost as if her feet had become used to being warped around the pegs. But as she shifted her weight to get used to it, she used that time to look up at the house beyond.

"Um… It's a house being built."

"Yep!"

"…So you drove me all the way over here to see half built home?" Daphne said puzzled, unsure what he was doing. Fred just snickered.

"Come here… Follow me."

Grabbing her hand, he pulled her towards the house. Against the dark shadows that drifted about the structure, Fred's eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness. Since the area was still under construction, the city hadn't come along yet to install street lights yet. Pulling her past the front door, he moved them more towards the back of the house. Panelings were up on the outside of most of the framing, hiding the inner rooms from casual glances. It was only till they reached the soon to be backyard, that there was a break in the siding.

"Ah ha!"

Peeking his head inside the house, he then pulled Daphne in behind him.

Daphne was confused. She wasn't sure why Fred had spent all this time to drag her to a small house out in the middle of nowhere. And it wasn't even fully built yet! Blinking against the darkness, Daphne found herself trying to get used to the room where they had entered. As her eyes adjusted, she was able to make out the inner 'bones' of the walls, which sat raw and open… Waiting to be eventually covered in sheet rock, or whatever the owner would want on the inside.

Looking around the room, she wasn't exactly what she was looking at. None of the walls or furnishings had been placed inside yet. So it could be anything from a kitchen, or some type of den or dining room. She really wasn't sure. As she looked around, she found that Fred had disappeared, deeper into the house.

"Fred?" She called out into the house, listening for him as her voice echoed in the empty shell.

"Up here!" Fred answered, his voice coming from above and further into the house.

Brows furrowed, Daphne felt weird just wandering around someone's house in the middle of the night. And also found it odd that Fred didn't seem to mind at all. Sure, they had trespassed before; but it was usually for a mystery. And she doubted that Fred would hide a mystery from her, or that one would happen conveniently just in time to combat her boredom. Which she had to say, at least she wasn't bored! 


	5. Stars and Skeletons

Using random shafts of moonlight that crept into the cracks of the house, Daphne slowly proceeded into the house. Using the framework to steady herself, she edged into the next room. Sliding one foot in front of the other, she tested the floor before she set her weight upon it. She really didn't want to step on just the wrong board, and end up in the basement. She was all too familiar with the experience, and didn't want to be danger prone that night.

Her eyes had adjusted enough, that she was able to see the dusty boot prints of the men that had been working on the house. With their constant traverses between outside and inside, they had dragged enough mud and dirt to leave a clear trail of safe passages throughout the house. And she knew it was men building the house, since the shoe prints never lie. And given enough time, and a distinct enough print; Daphne would be able to tell the make, model and shoe size of each person that had come through that house.

Using the trail, she walked with a bit more confidence across the boards that made up the unfinished floor. As much as it creaked and groan, none of them moved enough for Daphne to worry. Looking around as she moved further into the house, she was looking for the stairs. Since Fred sounded like he had been above her when he had last called out.

Squinting against the large open room that she had moved into, it must have been where the living room would eventually be. Cracks through soon to be windows, gave her enough light to get a better look about the room, to notice a hallway to her left. Peeking her head around the framework of the arch, she found that a set of stairs led up to the next floor.

"Fred?"

Daphne called up, though he didn't answer.

Waiting a few seconds, she decided to press forward and try to find him. Hopefully he hadn't got himself hurt of something, but she figured he would have made some noise if he had, so he probably just was far enough away that he hadn't heard her voice when she called up to him.

"What is he up to?" Daphne mused to herself, unsure what the man was up to. Though it certainly felt like the house wasn't the full surprise he had in mind when he took her here. And something was waiting for her upstairs…  
>CREAK!<p>

Muttering a curse under her breath, Daphne had gotten scared of the second stair that she had stepped on as it squealed under her weight suddenly. Heart in her chest, she really didn't need that.

Wishing a kick would actually do something to the meddling piece of wood, she just had to settle with thinking evil thoughts about harming the inanimate object. Not that it would do any good, or make the board feel sorry for spooking her… but it made her feel better.

She made it to the top of the stairs without another board speaking up, probably in fear of her wrath she had threatened the other board with. But she ended up at the top of the landing that was far more unfinished compared to the first floor. And inner paneling was missing, making it hard to really tell which room was going to be which.

Passing through what she thought was a wall, she finally noticed Fred leaning against a further part of the second floor. Making her way over, she wanted to call out to him but she was caught off guard with his distracted look out a nearby hole in the wall. Being careful of where she stepped, she stormed up to him in the pretense to really give it to him for disappearing. But as she approached the hole, she finally saw what had stopped him.

"Wow…"

"Yeah."

The hole in the wall was as far as the siding, and a chunk of the unfinished roof… Giving them full access to the best view of the stars that Daphne had seen in a really long time. Since there was no street lights, and the trees had been removed from the area to allow for a big backyard, there was nothing keeping the stars from shining at full tilt. It was almost like the sky had exploded, covering as far as they could see with glittering dots, and flickering sparkles.

"Come on."

Offering his hand, Fred waited till Daphne had broken out of her stare to realize his offer. Blinking, she wordlessly took his hand. Pulling her behind him, he stepped out on a piece of scaffolding that sat outside the hole he had been waiting by. Making sure her footing was ok, he led her up to part of the finished roof that the scaffolding directed them towards. With the shelving that the roofers had left for their own usage, Fred and Daphne were able to lay with their backs against the slant and had a perfect view of the open sky beyond them.

"This… is amazing." Daphne finally spoke, her voice a little bit more than a whisper. Which earned a chuckle from Fred.

"Yeah. Red was telling me about this a while ago. Since he and the guys were working on the house until it rained, and they had to wait till the weather got better. Most likely they will be back to working on this tomorrow, so tonight would probably be the best day to take advantage of the house like this."

Nodding, Daphne couldn't take her eyes off the night sky. Sure, she had seen it countless times before, but for some reason it looked extra pretty tonight. And since she was constantly busy with other things, it really wasn't her top priority to look up and take in the sights. Plus from their backyard, there was enough light to down out most of the stars, allowing only the strongest ones to break past the glow of city life.

Settling against the shingles, silence fell between Fred and Daphne as they watched the night sky together. Just enjoying each other's company, and the expanse of space that sat before them. Though Inwardly Daphne cursed Velma, wishing she was as good at the other woman at remembering the constellations that hung over head. Sure, she could find the North Star, Orion, and a few others. But Velma would be able to spout out their names and be able to point them out in the night sky with an ease that made Daphne jealous.

"Hehehe…" Snickered Fred suddenly, making Daphne's head turn towards him.

"Hm?"

Looking over, he snickered once before explaining. Pointing to the sky.

"I know that it probably has a constellation already, but for some reason… those stars kinda remind me of Scooby and Shaggy." Shifting towards her, he moved enough till he was shoulder to shoulder with her. And using the closer arm, he pointed in such a way that would make it easier for her to follow up his arm at where he was pointing.

"See those two stars there? Make that into Scooby's nose and follow them back to that star there, there and there to make his head. And then look to a set of stars in front of him. Doesn't that look like a Scooby Snack?" Fred laughed, hoping that Daphne could see it as well.

Squinting, Daphne tried to follow where he was pointing. She had a hard time seeing Scooby, until the snack had been pointed out. And then the earlier stars snapped into perspective and she could see the dots that connected to make the silly shape of Scooby's head. And then looking behind the head of Scooby, she could make out the rough shape that Fred must have seen as Shaggy's head.

"Oh, wow… Hahaha, it looks like Scooby is beating Shaggy to the snack."

"Heh, yeah. As usual. Poor Shaggy."

"Poor Shaggy? Yeah right, he might not get the snack then, but he is getting better at lock picking. I had to update my lock on the kitchen to keep him from getting at the snacks. Thankfully Scooby isn't as good as Shaggy is in that respect." Daphne snorted, but still amused at the stars.

"Oh, that's how he got in there. Hm, we'll have to keep a closer eye on him." Fred laughed, though he kept his eyes to the sky.

"Hey, think we can find a Daphne constellation?" Fred mused, squinting at the night sky in hopes to see the right combination of stars to suit the woman that was lying beside him.

"Only if we can find a Fred one too. And then probably a Velma, just so she isn't left out." Daphne suggested, eager to try to find a set of Fred stars. Her eyes trying to see everything at once, in order to maybe see some that looked like him.

"Fred?" Daphne spoke up after a little bit of searching.

"Yeah Daph?" He spoke, looking over at her as she looked back at him. Their faces just inches away from each other.

"Thanks for taking me here." She said smiling at him, eyes twinkling in the starlight. Her breath lightly drifting across his face as she spoke.

Fred smiled back, leaning his head towards hers. Placing his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes as he rested against her. Enjoying her company and the feeling of her being so close to him.

"You're welcome. Thanks for being bored."


End file.
